Well, the berries are in…the Maine wild blueberries from Continuous Harmony Farm came in Tuesday in all their just-picked glory. And make no mistake: wild blueberries are a bona-fide superfruit, packed with brain-healthy anthocyanins (antioxidants.) They are “lowbush” blueberries, and distinct from the commercially-cultivated “highbush” blueberries; wild blueberries have tiny, intense flavor-bombs—some call them berries!
So far I’ve made a few meals out of them—and added them to already-wonderful things. (To quote Mae West: “Too much of a good thing is wonderful!”) And—silly me—I sprang, as I did last year for a full flat of berries; life is too short to deny yourself amazing fruit such as this!
So that they last me throughout the year, I’m taking a half-cup or so of berries, portioning them out into Ziploc™ (or equivalent) bags, and putting most of the bags in the freezer. This is what I did this past year—and actually I have berries left from last year’s harvest! They’re still good; in fact, I was trying to finish them up before this year’s berries arrived.
It’s also worth it to get the freeze-dried berry powder: to add to a bowl of [vegan] yogurt, for instance. This is refreshing whirled as a smoothie, or I prefer it with a handful of the co-op’s MU MU Muesli—the world’s best cereal, in my not-so-humble opinion. Whatever your smoothie recipe, you can up your smoothie game by adding a few teaspoons of this magic powder!
I’m finding I like the frozen berries on top of a bowl of vegan ice cream, and dusted with a bit of cinnamon. (The blueberry pie recipe in The Joy of Cooking calls for seasoning their classic blueberry pie recipe with cinnamon.)
However you choose to enjoy them is up to you! Bon appétit!
—Beth, co-op member
Frozen wild blueberries are available from one of our vendors. If you’d like to place a special order, please email produce@4thstreetfoodcoop.org.